Oups

A favorite highlight among many: taking Martine, Ed and Patrick on a hike which I remembered as “not really that challenging”. Of course, this was almost ten years ago when I was into rock climbing, and it turned out to be in fact the most difficult that Acadia National Park had to offer, a near-vertical 1000-foot climb over just a quarter of a mile! (No ropes!) Although we were, in the end anyway, happy to have met the challenge head-on, there were some moments where I thought some of my best friends might never speak to me again. But by the end of the day everyone had once more found their happy thoughts.

The Precipice Trail is probably the most well known and certainly the most challenging trail in Acadia National Park. It is a non-technical, but almost vertical, 1,000 foot climb up granite ledges to the summit of Champlain Mountain. There are many iron rungs and ladders along the trail and it is only recommended for experienced, physically fit hikers who do not have a fear of heights. (emphasis mine)

Just so you know our group “levels” for those skills were:

Experience: One climber from years back. 3 non climbers, pretty much non hikers.

Physically fit: Good to average I’d say.

Fear of heights: 3 out of 4, 2 of which mentioned past instances of dizziness when faced with heights.

So… yeah, a bit tense in parts. Won’t do it again unless it’s on Amazing Race for a million. Still, fun to have done it. Mmmmh maybe fun isn’t quite right. Satisfying? Closer.

The shocked faces of the couple we talked to at the top when we told them which way we had come to the top by is also worth remembering.